Maybe the Gray Lady should eat crow for Thanksgiving

posted at 9:47 am on November 22, 2008 by Ed Morrissey

I’m always amused by people who decry the slaughter of animals for food as some barbaric practice, as if people haven’t been eating meat for the entire history of homo sapiens. Where, exactly, do people like the editors of the New York Times think the turkey for their Thanksgiving originates — a Star Trek replicator? Instead of laughing off what was a poor decision by Palin’s staff for an interview location, we instead hear shrieks of executions from the Gray Lady:

We’ve differed with Sarah Palin a great deal on substance. We don’t agree with her hardline approach to the Iraq War, her harsh anti-government rhetoric, and her style of negative campaigning.

But we also worry a bit about, how should we put it, the persona she has brought with her to national politics. We did not care at all for the swipe she took against community organizers at the Republican National Convention.

And then there’s this. You don’t have to be a huge animal lover to question why Governor Palin chose to be interviewed — while issuing a traditional seasonal pardon of a turkey — while turkeys were being executed in the background.

I read about this clip from Allahpundit and other bloggers before I bothered to watch it, and I thought it would be much worse. Color me underwhelmed:

If this is what twisted the NYT’s knickers, then make sure no one ever takes them to an industrial-scale slaughterhouse. This is basically free-range handling. We’re not seeing vast machinery beheading a string of turkeys in some sort of dehumanized assembly-line process.

One man butchers a turkey for food (two, actually), and the New York Times gets the vapors. Have any of them ever eaten meat? At all? The editors of the Times should declare right now whether they plan to eat real turkey on Thanksgiving, and/or use turkey in sandwiches from now on. If so, how would they expect to have that available to them without the kind of process seen in this clip? Did they think that turkeys somehow committed suicide and left wills donating their bodies to family dining tables around the world?

Executed. Someone send the Times a vat of smelling salts.

I’ll be home with my family in California for Thanksgiving this year, while my son’s famly heads to Alabama for a Southern Thanksgiving with my daughter-in-law’s family. We will be enjoying all of the trimmings as well as the traditional turkey, and I doubt that any of us will be surprised to learn that someone killed the turkey before we shoved it into the oven. Maybe the New York Times considers that news in Manhattan, but that only gives readers an idea of how out-of-touch the Paper of Shrieking Hysteria has become.

Update: Tom Maguire thought that the birds committed suicide after several hours of forced listening to NPR. Now, that would just be cruel.

Blowback

Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.

You’re good, Vntnrse. And don’t be humble! You’re right…but the cool thing about Our Lady of Wasilla is she gives it an “Oh well”, ’tis me, next interview?” She be the Moose. According to the AP, book deals, photo ops and national-international appearances are in her future. I do hope, however,she leaves Oprah (My butt is just an ATM machine) and the Bag Lady Barbara WaWa waiting at the White House door.
Now go practice eating turkey!

You are welcome. Today my hairdresser who was raised on a farm in PA said her grandfather used to chop the turkeys’ heads off and she and her brothers would spend the afternoon chasing the headless birds in the field. They would drop about 7 to 8 minutes after their decapitation but in the meanwhile it was helter-skelter in the corn stubble until they could bring them back for gutting and plucking! Can you imagine that backdrop for Sarah? It would have been almost comical. Makes the killing cone look kind, doesn’t it? Anyway, eat more turkey…it goes with everything and is lean and clean. Try a dry white wine while you are at it.

I hit a deer tonight with my truck. Managed to miss the doe, but was unable to dodge the “less than a yearling” offspring buck.

I had slowed down enough that its death wasn’t instant. Rather than have the animal die a slow, painful death, I administered a coup de grace with my pistol.
Would the Times consider me an executioner?
I took no pleasure in the creature’s death.
And it did pain me. It’ll haunt me a bit this week. But I knew what had to be done, and I did it.
After a 20 hour work day, I wasn’t up for the gutting and skinning,(tho I have been involved with that process on more than one occasion) so I offered the deer to a neighbor struggling to
keep a small dairy farm afloat. The venison will make a nice addition to their Thanksgiving dinner. With some left over to feed his kids for a few more weeks.
And while the earlier decision was painful. The elation on my neighbor’s face, and the obvious sincerity of his thanks helped put a shine on an otherwise unpleasant situation.
I did take pleasure in that.
And in the interest of full disclosure:
I asked for a small roast. Those little ones are mighty tender.

soundingboard on November 23, 2008 at 8:51 AM

Soundingboard,

Here in Erie if that happens and you let know the police, they do exactly what you did…one couple was very concerned b/c they hit a deer and it seemed fine, but somehow after they told the cops they chased the deer and finished it off.

They were very affected by this incident, so much so they wrote the newspaper here. The newspaper (rare that they follow-up on a “Letters” section), called the PD and they confirmed this procedure.

Too bad that as a chick (by myself) I cannot haul the buck in the van and have it processed and preserve the head…I guess what you did was “double jeopardy”. ;-)

You absolutely did, which far too many seem to be forgetting here when whining about some d@mn turkey getting whacked for food.

Perhaps the one in the cone was being donated to such a family.

When I was growing up, my dad and older brother hunted to put food on the table, as I did when I got old enough. With a family of 10, it was a necessity. The game warden would sometimes bring a deer that was hit or shot illegally, and we were certainly grateful. It irritates the he!! out of me when people get self-righteous about things like this without thinking where the food might be going.

91Veteran on November 23, 2008 at 12:44 PM

Yup. And I wonder how many stories the NYT has run putting a positive spotlight on Community Organisations that hand out free turkeys to the disadvantaged?

Nice to see lots of HAers have actual hands on experience with the food chain.

No, I firmly and whole-heartedly agree with your opinion of Sarah. I do think she might not have realized what an unscrupulus interviewer was planning to do, and did to her, in order to get a shot that will be used against her in the future. As a technical “pro” I try to be ready for what I’m planning to do to put the musicians in the best possible “light” (or sound, actually, in my case). I think the interviewer was doing the same thing but for vastly different reasons.

Yes, I know how the meat I eat ends up on my table (do you really believe “liberals” don’t know this?). I also know how feces is made. But I wouldn’t conduct an interview with the process of it being made in the background.

Here in Erie if that happens and you let know the police, they do exactly what you did…one couple was very concerned b/c they hit a deer and it seemed fine, but somehow after they told the cops they chased the deer and finished it off.

They were very affected by this incident, so much so they wrote the newspaper here. The newspaper (rare that they follow-up on a “Letters” section), called the PD and they confirmed this procedure.

Too bad that as a chick (by myself) I cannot haul the buck in the van and have it processed and preserve the head…I guess what you did was “double jeopardy”. ;-)

ProudPalinFan on November 23, 2008 at 8:42 PM

I called the local Sheriff’s Dept. Mostly for insurance purposes. Woulda thrown it in he back of the Suburban, but had gear back there.

Instead, I threw it on the hood, and drove slowly the last coupla miles or so. Even at that, damn thing slid off twice.
Buck was young. No rack. (no descended testicles for that matter) Head probably went to the dogs. Literally.

The weight wasn’t a problem.

Now, had I hit the big doe that crossed, odds are the situation would have called for an on scene report, and most likely a wrecker.

I haven’t really hunted in years. And in all the years i did hunt I never shot a single one.
This is actually my seventh road kill tho.
Three resulted in undrivable vehices.
And the second one I’ve had to dispatch myself.
Still didn’t make the job easier.
I’ve always tried to salvage the meat,but a couple, by nessicity, have gone the way of buzzard and bacteria.
It’s like, ecological, man.

Hunters talk about the effectiveness of 30-’06, .30-.30,.243, etc. But nothing puts ‘em down like a 350 with a 4 barrel carb.
(tho it kinda plays hell with insurance rates.)

I understand our ancestors are regarded by some paleo-anthropologists as having been the widest-ranging of all predators, before the rise of agriculture and a comparatively settled way of life. They think our stance, way of moving, hands, intelligence, and sociality have all been shaped partly by the requirements and benefits of living as a member of a band of hunters.

The paleo-anthropologists also think our ancestors’ ancestors were scavengers before they were hunters. Their first great innovation may have been the use of stones to break open the skulls and large bones of animals brought down by predators, so they could scoop out and eat those two excellent brain foods: marrow and brains.

May the Lord bless our ancestors and keep them. May He give them have happy hunting and scavenging in the next life. May their memory instruct us how we may live holy lives. Amen.

Yes, I know how the meat I eat ends up on my table (do you really believe “liberals” don’t know this?). I also know how feces is made. But I wouldn’t conduct an interview with the process of it being made in the background.

You know… I don’t know if this was planned or not, but my instincts tell me this will actually work for her.
Of course, not with the NYT crowd, but with regular, red voters who she needs to appeal to.
Look… if she’s going to position herself for 2012, I absolutely guarantee you she can’t run another McCain campaign, all spit-shined and polished to be presentable to the liberals and moderates and the New York
Times. She needs to be the anti-New York Times candidate. She needs to distinguish herself from all of the others who will look the same, talk the same, say the same things.
As silly as this may look now, she’s going to be able to position herself to be the real candidate, with real beliefs, and will be able to run squarely against Obama, who may be seen by that point as a candidate of style, but no substance.
I think this works well precisely because it’s not polished and handled, but looks real and feels real.

First complaining about how dare people pay for pro-Palin ads, then going on to talk about gobble-gate. “medieval turkey slaughtering machine”. these people prefer everything to be hi-tech. you kill them, we don’t see them.

What is that thing he’s sticking the bird in? Does it grind off it’s head? Why not just chop its head of with an axe? You could process about 10 birds with a axe and a tree stump in the same time he does one.
Rod on November 23, 2008 at 7:52 AM

The big white double breasted birds are too big to fly and they are raised in captivity so the wings are rarely used and therefore weak. The bird is killed by cutting the jugular. As the bird dies, they violently flap their wings. In the video, you can see the bird shaking in the cone. With the large surface area of the wings and the weakened state of the wing structure, the flapping invariably causes the joints to separate, damaging the carcass.

Killing day is no fun. The birds are trusting you: after all, every time you show up, you feed them. I had some get out once. When I found them, they were huddled together in a field. When they saw me, they got an ran to me and followed me home. The next week they were in the freezer.

HAHAHHAHAAAAA, couldn’t help myself. I wanted to do it just for the fact of irony.

Liberals.. there is a Tofurkey in the freezer, all freezer burnt for ya if you can’t handle the “video”. And if there ever happens to be a Natural Disaster or otherwise… I am going to sit back and watch these people make fools of themselves eat willow bark trees.

I had never heard of this. I have a serious aversion to all vegan meat alternatives, because if it is tasty enough to warrant replacement, it probably doesn’t need replacing in the first place. (Except extinction of the food item)

However, google turned up some serious chucke material. Mostly because to a human with a carnivorous tendency, this sounds silly.

We want to help you reduce the amount of meat you eat each week. It’s easy! Just sign–up for Tofurky Tuesdays and we’ll send you a Tofurky Tuesday Care Package. It includes discount coupons and fun, motivational Tofurky® items

.

And the caption under the TOFURKEY MOBILE

Tofurkymobile speeds through the mountains of western Canada, heading for Wasilla, AK

BWAH-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha

Aside from being an obvious marketing tool, this is hilarious.

Seriously though, I think there should be some kudos to Sarah for choosing a free range bird to pardon, since that is the kinder way to farm and he’ll have a better life. :D

Having never eaten a free range turkey, let me know how it tastes. If its that good, I’ll patronize my local free range farm for the Christmas bird.

I just bought MY Turkey from that farm… Saturday!
upinak on November 24, 2008 at 10:47 AM

The Triple D can’t ship their birds dead or alive out of Alaska….if they could have I would have joined you in the purchase no matter the cost….am on the East coast. Their Turkey sales have increased since Sarah’s interview and I am delighted.I had to buy a boring frozen Butterball….enjoy your bird…if its fresh, that’s the best!
Happy Thanksgiving..this one will a memorable one for me with Sarah’s Turkey Talk.

Rather than have the animal die a slow, painful death, I administered a coup de grace with my pistol.
Would the Times consider me an executioner?
I took no pleasure in the creature’s death.
And it did pain me. It’ll haunt me a bit this week. But I knew what had to be done, and I did it.
After a 20 hour work day, I wasn’t up for the gutting and skinning,(tho I have been involved with that process on more than one occasion) so I offered the deer to a neighbor struggling to
keep a small dairy farm afloat. The venison will make a nice addition to their Thanksgiving dinner. With some left over to feed his kids for a few more weeks.
And while the earlier decision was painful. The elation on my neighbor’s face, and the obvious sincerity of his thanks helped put a shine on an otherwise unpleasant situation.
I did take pleasure in that.
And in the interest of full disclosure:
I asked for a small roast. Those little ones are mighty tender.

soundingboard on November 23, 2008 at 8:51 AM

Great story. Now you’ll find the game warden at your door. Bet you didn’t have a tag for that deer.
Killing it to prevent it’s suffering is against the law unless you have a tag for the animal & it’s the right season. And not at night, either.
Unless your state has a law concerning this situation.

Great story. Now you’ll find the game warden at your door. Bet you didn’t have a tag for that deer.
Killing it to prevent it’s suffering is against the law unless you have a tag for the animal & it’s the right season. And not at night, either.
Unless your state has a law concerning this situation.

Badger40 on November 24, 2008 at 2:07 PM

Tags? We don’t need no steenkin tags.

I’ve never met anybody who did what I did and ended up in trouble with the authorities.

May happen in other states, but this is Louisiana, people here are pretty understanding about such situations.
If there is a law on the books prohibiting such actions, it’s never been applied, as far as I know.

If the local DA decided to prosecute, he would be out on his ass next election cycle.

While making the phone report I told the Deputy I had shot the deer. He didn’t tell me to wait for the game warden to show up and arrest me.

And as I mentioned in another comment, this wasn’t my first experience with roadkill.

I’ve never met anybody who did what I did and ended up in trouble with the authorities.

May happen in other states, but this is Louisiana, people here are pretty understanding about such situations.
If there is a law on the books prohibiting such actions, it’s never been applied, as far as I know.

If the local DA decided to prosecute, he would be out on his ass next election cycle.

While making the phone report I told the Deputy I had shot the deer. He didn’t tell me to wait for the game warden to show up and arrest me.

And as I mentioned in another comment, this wasn’t my first experience with roadkill.

And with my luck, it won’t be the last.

Hope I’m wrong about that.

soundingboard on November 24, 2008 at 2:42 PM

Our game warden in SW ND woulda put your butt in jail.
But you still did the right thing.

Hey upinak I drove through Wasilla on the way back from Hatcher Pass yesterday… what’s up with all those people who still have Obama/Biden yard signs in their yards?

benny shakar on November 24, 2008 at 2:25 PM

Benny… I really don’t care how smug you are with Allah.

And if you hadn’t noticed all the McCain/Palin signs that say 2012 on them now… then you are an idiot of the highest regards.

Hatcher Pass…. a crappy tourist destination or where wannabe snowboarder/skiers want to supposedly mountain climb to get some “white”. Get a lift ticket at Alyeska you reject. Or better yet, find someone who owns a helicopter.. and you pay for the gas.

BTW… getting to Hatchers Pass… you usually go through Palmer, not Wasilla on the main roads, since the roads (that would be trunk usually if I don’t fee like going another way) were so crappy driving through Wasilla Saturday and Sunday myself.. from Talkeetna, where there actually IS snow!

I can’t really explain why I clicked over to his blog. I guess it was just to get my blood pressure up, but according to Andrew Sullivan it wasn’t an “execution” it was a “massacre”. Two turkeys killed humanely is apparently a “massacre”.

He goes on to say that the videographer who shot the tape claimed to a local radio station that the ‘Cuda picked the spot, that the “massacre” was going on at the time, and that her assistant (I assume that would be Kris Perry) was standing next to her during the entire interview (Did you guys see her? Yeah, me neither.). Then Andy goes on to imply that the videographer’s version makes much more sense, and that Palin is a “whack job” and a liar (actually he flat out says that). Apparently, the videographer’s version is backed up by a, wait for it…Democratic blogger and critic of the ‘Cuda who was “on the scene” (this information is in another article and not crazy Andy’s).

Um, Andy, how to put this gently? You’re a psychotic moron. The videographer is playing a game called CYA because his bosses are pissed as hell at him, and are embarrassed about the entire situation; including the fact that their guy acted in such an unprofessional manner.

The videographer is playing a game called CYA because his bosses are pissed as hell at him, and are embarrassed about the entire situation; including the fact that their guy acted in such an unprofessional manner.

meltenn on November 24, 2008 at 6:26 PM

They’re mad because they never should have aired that footage in the first place. That’s why they pulled it so quickly. They knew they made a big mistake.

You know… I don’t know if this was planned or not, but my instincts tell me this will actually work for her.
Of course, not with the NYT crowd, but with regular, red voters who she needs to appeal to.

12thMonkey on November 24, 2008 at 2:08 AM

I do think your logic is a little off there, Monkey. Simple Sarah’s already got all the extreme right wing Repubs in the bucket. But without Indies (such as myself) she can never win a general election. If the Pubs wanna lose again, make her your 2012 candidate. Just know that Turkeygate combined with the clip of Simple Sarah falling for a prank call, added to many other clips/interviews, will expose her for the light weight that she is.

For the highest job in the land, ONE NEEDS TO BE INTELLIGENT! And Fundies may love her, but it takes MANY TYPES OF VOTERS TO WIN AN ELECTION.

This video reveals the ONLY TWO PEOPLE who were NOT ABLE TO FIGURE OUT THAT THEY WERE BEING PRANKED by Canadian comedians AND HAD TO BE TOLD! The two people? SARAH PALIN and BRITNEY SPEARS!!! And you think she is presidential material?! Maybe she can get Britney Spears as her running mate!

All of you people joking about killing animals need to grow up! Most on this site are Christians, are you not?!

One of the great ironies of Sarah Palin’s candidacy is that the moose-killing, aerial hunting supporter, Turkeygate VP nominee made her big debut with a speech written BY A CHRISTIAN ANIMAL WELFARE ADVOCATE! Matthew Scully wrote her speech AND THE BOOK Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy. Matt is a kind and merciful example of how one can be a Christian and ALSO CARE ABOUT GOD’S ANIMALS!

Also some quotes from the Bible regarding the need for compassion towards God’s animals:

“Jesus said that God feeds the birds of the air (Matt. 6:26) and does not forget sparrows (Luke 12:6). The Hebrew Scriptures forbid inhumane slaughter or cruelty toward beasts of burden (Exod. 23:5; Deut. 22:6-7, 25:4).

Proverbs 12:10 teaches, “A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast”, and Psalm 145:9 reminds us that “The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.”

But without Indies (such as myself) she can never win a general election.

we don’t want your vote … Obama does though, he preys on the uneducated and the welfare recipients

joey24007 on November 26, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Yeah, Obama got the Indies and intelligent, college educated voters and HE WON! I rest my case! But go ahead and suit yourself and just live your clueless life with the loosing party for the next 10 elections!

Yeah, Obama got the Indies and intelligent, college educated voters and HE WON! I rest my case! But go ahead and suit yourself and just live your clueless life with the loosing party for the next 10 elections!

Shelby on November 26, 2008 at 12:33 AM

Yay! Obama got the independents!

Are these the same independents that vote for Bush in 04 and 00 and then for Clinton in 96?!

I love independents!

The Republican will never win elections because we don’t run candidates that can win over independents!

Like McCain … we need more McCains

that idiot Reagan could never appeal to the independents either … stupid republicans

God created all of this, and cares about it all, so I fail to see the relevance of your argument towards those of us who do not see a problem here.

Man is created in the image of God, and has dominion over all creation. Now, dominion means control, not abuse of, and has a responsible stewardship component, which is a reflection of what God does for everything. So from that perspective, your statements about God caring for animals are valid and biblical. Raising animals to be eaten is not abuse or irresponsible stewardship. The treatment of the turkeys on this string is not inhumane, and were utilized for food. So in essence, what we are seeing is the biblical treatment of food stocks being derided by the mainstream media. Your statement that those of us who are Christian and being cavalier about this are somehow not being christian utterly fails to hold weight, particularly given the passages you presented as a basis, which primarily target the care God provides for animals.

Some of your argument is indicative of a deep folly at the very least if not a lack of understanding.

Isaiah 65:25 is not talking about eternity, backing up to verse 17…

17 “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. 19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. 20 “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. 21 They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. 23 They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the LORD.

This is talking about the NEW creation, not eternity. In eternity, there is no birth and death, there is no building of houses. You’re adept at throwing out verses, look along these lines to find out about eternity.

So lets look at Revelation 5…which is also not about eternity, and in fact takes place prior to armageddon…

1Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9And they sang a new song:
“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
11Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” 14The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped

Now, how is this even relevant to your argument?

I could go on, but will spare the other readers. John 3 does not talk about deliverance of animals. Suffice it to say that Jesus did not die on the cross for you AND your dog too, or else he would have said it. Now stop casting stones at christians when you don’t even understand what you’re saying.